


wasteland, baby

by intertwingular



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: ...in a world where the bible doesn't actually exist, Gen, biblical metaphors, pre-rebellion & purgatory, written for the WMTSB zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22574788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intertwingular/pseuds/intertwingular
Summary: “So, Eve sought more knowledge,” Lucifer says, taking a long drag from his coffee cup. “She went to the roots of the Tree of Knowledge — for it was as much her creator as Adam had been — and begged an apple from its wide branches.”“And birthed the Original Sin,” Sandalphon murmurs.Lucifer smiles, closed lipped and radiant. “Yes,” he says. “From her need for knowledge and her dissatisfaction, Eve ripped herself from Eden and cast the Astrals out from the Garden.” He sighs, setting his coffee cup down once more. “Knowledge isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be, I suppose.”In the Garden of Eden, Sandalphon makes a choice.
Relationships: Lucifer & Sandalphon (Granblue Fantasy), one-sided Lucifer/Sandalphon (Granblue Fantasy)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	wasteland, baby

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for the wmtsb zine! i had a great time participating, even though i was slightly (very) intimidated by all the awesome creators who were a part of the zine too. 
> 
> title is from "wasteland baby" by hozier. i think the song works well for a lot of lucisan feelings & the horny dark religious vibes work too. so there's that. 
> 
> enjoy!

Sandalphon sat, and waited for Lucifer to return, red eyes empty, and mind blaThe first thing Sandalphon knew was light filtering through green leaves, and soft, warm hands resting on his knees. The world was awfully bright and so, shockingly new. 

“Hello,” a soft voice said. 

The second thing Sandalphon knew was Lucifer. Lucifer, with his white hair and blue eyes and six white wings. He was kneeling in front of Sandalphon, something achingly tender in his eyes — but Sandalphon was just formed, and the tender warmth sparked nothing in the emptiness in his chest. 

“Who are you?” Sandalphon asked. There was no real curiosity in the question, but somehow, Sandalphon knew that the man in front of him wanted some response, any response. So he blinked his eyes, the movement syrupy and slow as Sandalphon began to adjust to this unfamiliar form. 

(there was a discomfort to it, this body, this winged, grounded form. not that sandalphon knew, nor could realize, that yet.) 

Unbidden, the man kneeling in front of him began to cry, fat tears welling up in his blue, _blue_ eyes. Sandalphon had never seen the sky before, nor the jewel-toned waters of the sea, but in his empty, empty mind, the memory of Lucifer’s eyes would stay with him, if only for the niggling, aching feeling that came with the sight. 

“I’m Lucifer,” the man said, and he smiled. “Good morning, Sandalphon.” 

“Good morning,” Sandalphon parroted back, and Lucifer smiled. His hands were warm when he pressed them to Sandalphon’s forehead, and when Lucifer pulled them away, the warmth lingered there. 

(the memory of that warmth and lucifer’s blue, blue eyes would stay with sandalphon for millennia to come — though then, he couldn’t understand why) 

Sandalphon watched as Lucifer turned away from him. and left the garden, its patch of filtered sunlight, and Sandalphon, who sat there, unmoving except for the flutter of his eyelashes as he blinked, mechanical and slow, the rise of his chest, and the movement of his hair as the wind brushed by.

* * *

Sandalphon has only ever known two places — the garden and the laboratory. The garden is _his_ place, his place with Lucifer, who smiles so gently with his blue, blue eyes. 

Sandalphon thinks that he should know what exactly Lucifer’s eyes remind him of, but the garden and the lab are the only places he’s ever been to — so he pushes the thought away and moves on. 

It’s the lab today. Lucilius has him strapped to an examining table, mask over his face — and Sandalphon notes, not for the first time, how similar the Astral looks to Lucifer. But Lucilius is far more cutting than Lucifer, his eyes colder, the blade he wields infinitely sharper. 

Lucilius speaks with a cold voice as he pokes and prods at everything that makes Sandalphon, Sandalphon. Out from the corner of his eyes, Sandalphon can see Lucifer’s adjudant lingering in the shadows, a grin borne of something Sandalphon can’t place stretching across his lips. 

“Hm,” Lucilius says, tone flat and disinterested. “I see.” The scalpel flashes in the light, and something animalistic sends Sandalphon’s pulse jumping. “I’ll have to take you apart again.” 

No, Sandalphon thinks dimly, _please._

But Lucifer is the one who walked him here the first time, had delivered him to Lucilius for the very first lab test and said, something warm in his voice, “this is Sandalphon, Lucilius. I’ll be leaving him in your care,” and Sandalphon cannot bear to disobey Lucifer. 

For a moment, the thought that Lucifer might be cruel too crosses Sandalphon’s mind. He shakes it away — _no._ Lucifer has never been anything but kind to Sandalphon. Lucifer’s kindness and warmth, his soft hands and gentle touch and their garden with its shaded groves are the kindest things Sandalphon has ever known.

That can’t be a cruelty. 

Sandalphon tells himself that it can’t — reminds himself of wistful blue eyes, white wings, and dappled sunlight through green leaves — and closes his eyes as the knife comes down on him, again and again.

* * *

The coffee is bitter in his mouth. The taste seems to almost spread, bitter touching bitter, until Sandalphon can scarcely remember a time where that acrid, biting taste didn’t linger in the back of his throat, coating his tongue until his words are bitter black too. 

_Replacement_ echoes in his mind. _Replacement. Pawn._

Lucifer is speaking, but all Sandalphon can hear is white noise. The Garden is the same as always: Eden is a paradise, as it has been since the day Sandalphon first became aware, but now the sunlit greenery and the quiet surusu of the cerulean river as it sweeps through Eden are sour. Tainted. Eden feels like a _cage._

“Lucifer.” The silence has begun to stretch, thin and tenuous between them. Sandalphon can see the way Lucifer’s brow begins to furrow in concern, and _still_ , even with _replacement, pawn, useless,_ bouncing around in his chest, Sandalphon jumps to fill the silence. “Could you tell me the story of the woman and the garden?” 

Lucifer sets his coffee cup down. He looks less concerned already, eyes crinkling as the wrinkles between his eyebrows smooth out, giving way to a small, serene smile. “Ah — you mean Eve and Eden, Sandalphon?” 

Sandalphon nods, no longer trusting his words. Lucifer has told this story a million times. 

Sandalphon has not forgotten a single one of them. 

“Ah, Eve,” Lucifer begins, tone the same as always. As if nothing is _wrong_ , as if nothing has changed. 

_For him, it hasn’t_ , Sandalphon thinks. Lucifer has always lived with the knowledge that Sandalphon was created — by Lucifer’s own hands — to serve him. To, if the need ever arose, become Lucifer, replace the Primarch that governed them all. But Sandalphon has always lived with the unwavering certainty that Lucifer will never change, never fade. Sandalphon has never known a life without Lucifer - his very first memory is of Lucifer’s limpid blue eyes, wet with tears, and the breeze that blows through Eden. 

“Eden, to Eve, was a prison. She had been created from Adam’s rib, had grown from beneath the Tree of Knowledge, and had lived all her short existence with Knowledge nestled deep within her bosom. 

There was no satisfaction to be found at Adam’s side, for Eve had to live with the knowledge that she had been created in Adam’s shape, only to serve him. She had not been created to seek her own fortune, or to build her own life, outside of Eden — away from _Adam,_ and thus would never be allowed it.” 

_So, Eve sought more knowledge_ , Sandalphon finishes silently. _The apple._

“So, Eve sought more knowledge,” Lucifer says, taking a long drag from his coffee cup. “She went to the roots of the Tree of Knowledge — for it was as much her creator as Adam had been — and begged an apple from its wide branches.” 

“And birthed the Original Sin,” Sandalphon murmurs. 

Lucifer smiles, closed lipped and radiant. “Yes,” he says. “From her need for knowledge and her dissatisfaction, Eve ripped herself from Eden and cast the Astrals out from the Garden.” He sighs, setting his coffee cup down once more. “Knowledge isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be, I suppose.” 

“It’s an old Astral myth meant to warn children from asking too much,” a familiar voice says. “Hey, Lucy.” 

Belial swaggers up to their table. Sandalphon wonders how Belial manages to make his buttoned up, pristine uniform look like it wouldn’t be out of place in the bowels of a strip club. _It’s in the way he walks_ , Sandalphon decides. _Like a pimp_. Not that Sandalphon has ever seen one. He knows of them, nonetheless.

“Belial.” Lucifer stands, the sound of the iron legs of his chair scraping against the cobblestones piercing and shrill. “What does Lucilius need?” 

Belial shrugs. “Dunno,” he drawls, leaning lackadaisically against Sandalphon’s chair. “‘Cilius wouldn’t tell me. Better hurry over though, he’s not in a very _good_ mood, if you know what I mean.” 

“I see.” He turns to Sandalphon. “I’m sorry to cut our time together short, but...duty calls, I suppose.” Lucifer smiles, soft and serene, and Sandalphon wonders if the touch of regret is real, or only in his mind. 

“It’s okay, Lucifer,” Sandalphon lies. “There’s always next time.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! pls drop a comment, etc. i might revisit this one day -- in all honesty, i wanted to span the entirety of the rebellion, finishing with sandalphon's fall to purgatory, but unfortunately it wasn't within the word count limit, so i decided to cut it where it ends. 
> 
> you can find me @ [mochiicreams](https://twitter.com/mochiicreams/) on twitter.


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